Working closely with the people who use our products, we create solutions that are sensitive to their special needs. We call this intimate healthcare.

The Coloplast story begins back in 1954. Elise Sørensen is a nurse. Her sister Thora has just had an ostomy operation and is afraid to go out in public, fearing that her stoma might leak. Listening to her sister’s problems, Elise conceives the idea of the world’s first adhesive ostomy bag.

Based on Elise’s idea, Aage Louis-Hansen, a civil engineer and plastics manufacturer, and his wife Johanne Louis-Hansen, a trained nurse, created the ostomy bag. An ostomy bag that helps Thora – and thousands of people like her – to live the life they want to lead.

Today, our business includes Ostomy Care, Continence Care, Wound & Skin Care and Interventional Urology. We operate globally and employ about 12,000 employees.

Our mission is to make life easier for people with intimate healthcare needs. This requires both an understanding of their medical challenges and the many other concerns that impact their lives. These can be related to social situations, travel, work, intimacy, exercise or just a trip to the shops. We gain this understanding by listening to them and to nurses and specialists who care for them. It is what inspires us and enables us to deliver the products and services that can make a difference.